Faf du Plessis opines opening for CSK has helped him grow as a player

Faf du Plessis has remained one of the core players for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and helped them enter their 8th IPL final with a comfortable 6-wicket win over Delhi Capitals (DC) on Friday (May 10).

The South African skipper has amassed 370 for CSK in the ongoing IPL 2019 edition&nbsp | &nbspPhoto Credit:&nbspPTI

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) once again made it to the finals of an IPL edition by beating Delhi Capitals (DC) by 6 wickets in the Qualifier 2 at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on May 10 (Friday) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 edition. Chasing a moderate 148, it was Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson's respective half-centuries which led the side to a win over Delhi. While Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, and Dwayne Bravo combined to strangle the opposition, it was Faf's 39-ball 50 which paved the way for an easy chase for MS Dhoni's troops.

Post the encounter, the South African stated that opening the innings for CSK has helped him grow his game and develop overall as a player. As quoted by ICC, the South African skipper said, "Obviously, in my career, I've always batted 3 and 4. So the first time I really got an opportunity to open was with Chennai because that's where the gap is. Suresh [Raina] has batted No.3 since he was 18 for Chennai, and he's going to bat there for, I suppose, a few more years. Even [MS] Dhoni sometimes bats at 4 or 5. So the opportunity for me was to open the batting, especially after [Michael] Hussey left. South Africa team, I bat [at] three, it's probably my best role. It was good for me to just grow my game, just batting different circumstances," added the 34-year-old.

The right-hander has been one of the mainstays for CSK since his inclusion in the side. In the ongoing IPL season, Faf has continued to impress and amassed 370 runs at an average of 37 with 3 half-centuries. He is coming to his own as the league has neared its conclusion. In the run-chase of 148 versus DC, the CSK opener was on fire and monitored the field to good use. He led the charge versus Axar Patel and Ishant Sharma and gave a rousing start to CSK's innings.

The veteran batsman will be up for the challenge against Mumbai Indians (MI) as CSK face-off with their arch-rivals in what is expected to be a riveting season finale to a highly-successful IPL edition.

This will be CSK's eighth IPL final (out of 10 seasons). In addition, it will be their second consecutive final appearance since readmission and third on the trot since 2015.

Faf du Plessis opines opening for CSK has helped him grow as a playerDescription:Faf du Plessis has remained one of the core players for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and helped them enter their 8th IPL final with a comfortable 6-wicket win over Delhi Capitals (DC) on Friday (May 10).Times Now